The head of Hong Kong’s heritage office has apologized for “insensitivity in communication” after the demolition of a century-old underground reservoir was halted because of a public outcry.

Heritage officers did not take a closer look earlier because the Water Supplies Department — responsible for the facility — told them that it was a water tank, said Commissioner for Heritage Ivanhoe Chang as he visited the site on Tuesday.

The “tank” turned out to be a cavernous structure with massive stone and brick arches, dating back to the beginning of last century. The project on Bishop Hill, Shek Kip Mei, was halted on Monday after pictures of what netizens called a “roman cistern” were circulated online.

“Now we can see that it’s not just a tank,” Chang said. “But something with special architectural features.”

He added that the office had since reminded government departments to consult before commencing large-scale works on heritage sites.

Four of the 100 columns at the site, and a 200 square meter-area in the roof, had been taken down before the intervention, said Ho Lai-wa, a WSD chief engineer.

Chang described the damage as “not very serious” and could be repaired by modern technology. The structure has not been graded, so it would be premature to tell how the repairs would be carried out, he said.

A layout of the reservoir obtained in 2018 by then architecture student Shita Lam could contradict Chang’s and WSD’s claim that they were not aware of the site’s features. The layout was given to her by WSD for a research project on public space, she said.

Her suggestion to conserve the site at the time had been rejected by professors at the Chinese University of Hong Kong — where she was completing a master’s course, she said.

Chang’s claim reflected that his office had not even bothered to look at the layout, she said.

Douglas So, chairperson of the Antiquities Advisory Board, told Apple Daily that the AAB was very concerned about the incident, and the structure was important and should be protected.

So’s predecessor Andrew Lam told the South China Morning Post on Monday that the structure had been missed because it was underground, while the Antiquities and Monuments Office’s grading system mainly applied to those above ground.

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